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Deathtrap Dungeon (book)
Deathtrap Dungeon is a single-player role-playing gamebook, written by Ian Livingstone, illustrated by Iain McCaig and originally published in 1984 by Puffin Books. It was later republished by Wizard Books in 2002. It forms part of Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone's Fighting Fantasy series. It is the sixth in the series in the original Puffin series (ISBN 0-14-031708-2) and the third in the modern Wizard series (ISBN 1-84046-388-0). Creation The book was written after Ian Livingstone has been on a trekking holiday in Northern in 1981. The city of , the and the town of all featured on the trip and ended up as place names in the book. The name for the Baron of Fang, Baron Sukumvit, came from in .25th Anniversary Edition of - 220 Background - Back Cover ("Golden Dragon" Edition)}} This ''Fighting Fantasy gamebook is set in the usual fantasy world of Titan, in the Allansia region. The book takes place in a Northern town called Fang. The Baron of Fang, Sukumvit, has created a contest, the "Trial of Champions", and the player takes the role of an entrant in the contest. Along with five other contestants the player must enter the terrible Deathtrap Dungeon, filled with elaborate traps and dangerous monsters (such as the Bloodbeast featured on the Puffin edition's cover), and emerge alive on the other side in order to be declared the victor. Throughout the book the player has encounters with the other participants in "The Walk". The player proceeds through the dungeon, encountering numerous traps and monsters. The book also features encounters with the other participants of the contest. Some of the other participants are already eliminated by the time the player reaches them. Part way through the book the player forms a temporary alliance with Throm, one of the two barbarian competitors. This alliance is short-lived, however, as the player character and Throm are later forced by a Dwarf Trialmaster to fight each other to the death. After this encounter, the player learns from a dying Elf, another participant, that they are required to collect a certain number of gems in order to win the contest. The player must then bypass the Pit Fiend, the rival Ninja, the Bloodbeast, and also a Manticore to reach Igbut the Gnome, who is the final Trialmaster. He asks for the gems and their correct combination in order to unlock the door to victory. The player must rely on luck to survive this encounter. If successful, the player character wins the prize of 10,000 Gold Pieces. Rules The book in general follows the original rules set down in The Warlock of Firetop Mountain. (see Game System) Wizard Books Edition Rule Errors Some of the rules are incorrectly printed in the Wizard Books version of the book due to text being copied from The Warlock of Firetop Mountain. The rules state that Provisions can only be eaten when instructed by the text, which is not the case. The book also incorrectly states that the player has two doses of their chosen Potion at the beginning of the book, when in fact they have only one. The rules also incorrectly state that the player begins with a lantern when this is not the case. Equipment List *Sword *Leather Armour *Backpack *10 Provisions *Choice of one of three Potions (see Game System for generic fantasy setting choices) Cover and Illustrations Covers The original cover of the book was designed and illustrated by Iain McCaig. When the book was republished by Wizard a new cover was designed and illustrated by Mel Grant. #Price of 1st~2nd Impressions #Price of 7th Impression; £1.75 for 8th Impression #Price of 13th Impression #Price of 16th Impression #This edition of the book was only available free with the purchase of the computer game. Illustrations The interior illustrations were by Iain McCaig. There were 32 full page illustrations and 4 minor repeated illustrations scattered throughout the text. The paragraphs with a full page illustration were: Background, 12, 24, 37, 49, 60, 74, 93, 108, 122, 134, 143, 153, 168, 170, 187, 200, 210, 218, 230, 245, 264, 282, 299, 312, 326, 339, 344, 352, 364, 381 and 393. Intertextual References One of the characters in the book, a Troll whose name is Ivy, refers to her brother Sourbelly, who was a nasty Troll guard in City of Thieves. Prequels and Sequels *''Deathtrap Dungeon'' is one of the most successful and popular of the Fighting Fantasy gamebooks, and one of the few to inspire a sequel, Trial of Champions, again by Ian Livingstone. A further follow-up, Armies of Death, follows the continuing exploits of the adventurer who completed Trial of Champions, although it is not set within Deathtrap Dungeon and bears little resemblance to the two first books. *There was also a mini-sequel in Warlock Issue 7, called Deathtrap on Legs, by Paul Mason and Steve Williams. *This is also the second in a loose trilogy of books following an adventurer from Port Blacksand (City of Thieves) to Fang and then onto Oyster Bay (Island of the Lizard King). Other Media A Deathtrap Dungeon video game, produced by Eidos was released in 1998, as well as a multi-player card game based on the setting. However, neither game is very similar to Livingstone's book. d20 System Conversion There is a D20 System conversion by Myriador called Deathtrap Dungeon. Main Characters YOU: Hero of City of Thieves *Barbarian - Contestant *Basket Man *Dwarf - Trialmaster *Elf - Contestant *Igbut - Gnome/Trialmaster *Ivy - Troll *Knight - Contestant *Ninja - Contestant *Old Man - Trialmaster *Sukumvit Charavask *Throm - Contestant Locations *Arena of Death *Chiang Mai *Deathtrap Dungeon *Fang *Port Blacksand *River Kok Encounters *Bloodbeast *Caveman *Cave Troll *Dwarf *Flying Guardians *Giant Fly *Giant Scorpion *Goblins *Guard Dogs *Hobgoblins *Imitator *Ivy - Troll *Manticore *Minotaur *Mirror Demon *Ninja *Orcs *Pit Fiend *Rock Grub *Skeleton Warrior *Throm - Barbarian Further Notes *31 instant failures, 1 victory, plus death by Stamina loss or bad Luck. *Ian Livingstone's favourite book from the Fighting Fantasy books is named as Deathtrap Dungeon.25th Anniversary Edition of - 220 *This book sold over 300,000 copies in the alone in less than a year.25th Anniversary Edition of - 204 *Ian Livingstone makes a cameo appearance as the ragged prisoner and former "Trial of Champions" contestant, in the illustration accompanying paragraph 21025th Anniversary Edition of - 221 *In a couple of possible errors, paragraph 242 has you fall unconscious to the floor, but if you make a good enough roll to get to paragraph 48, you're informed that you avoid falling unconscious to the floor. Also an art/text inconsistency: in paragraph 164 you follow boot prints, but when you see the person who made them in the illustration by paragraph 299, he's barefoot. Dedication For Jacques and Octavie Gelaude See Also *''Armies of Death'' *''Caverns of the Snow Witch'' (Mini-FF) *''Caverns of the Snow Witch'' *''City of Thieves'' *''Crypt of the Sorcerer'' *''Dicing with Dragons *''Eye of the Dragon'' (Mini-FF) *''Eye of the Dragon'' *''Fighting Fantasy'' *''Freeway Fighter'' *''Island of the Lizard King'' *''Legend of Zagor'' *''Return to Firetop Mountain'' *''Temple of Terror'' *''The Forest of Doom'' *''Trial of Champions'' *''The Warlock of Firetop Mountain'' External Links *Character Sheet References * * * Official sites: * * Magazines: * Category:1984 books Category:Fighting Fantasy Original Series Category:Fighting Fantasy Wizard Series